sprucing

present participle of spruce

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sprucing
Verb
  • Juxtaposing her bleach blond bedhead, Anderson kept her faded brown brows pencil thin (think super skinny ’90s brows), framing her eyes like an arch and embellishing her naked lids.
    Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026
  • This week, the retailer shared an Instagram video showing a woman applying a Biodance face mask before embellishing the product with colorful plastic gems.
    Sarah Glodek, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Many of the biggest AI safety fears revolve around advanced models getting increasingly capable at improving their own performance, a technique known as recursive self-improvement, or RSI.
    Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The numbers don’t favor an improving team in that regard — but remember, the Cowboys should have top quarterback play, top receivers, good-to-great offensive line play and a good-to-great run game.
    Zak Keefer, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • An English springer spaniel in Alabama loves nothing more than spending her whole day in the pool and has taken to tricking her parents into letting her into the pool every day.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
  • In many cases, the robot tail wags the living dog by tricking it—tricking us—into caring about obscure metrics, then gamifying the process of improving them.
    Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Skau warned that as attention turns towards ameliorating the security crisis, resources should not be taken away from addressing the surging humanitarian needs, which include more than 5 million people who do not have enough to eat.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
  • Taking control of the narrative is the first step to ameliorating the damage.
    David Rivera, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Sprucing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sprucing. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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